Renault was founded in 1899 by Luois Renault and his two brothers. Renault quite quickly grew into a successful french car company, producing models in all segments from small to large luxury car chassis meant for coachbuilders. During the first world war Renault produced tanks, but when the war had ended it went back to car manufacturing. During the second world war, the factory was under control by the German war machine and produced lorries. Louis Renault died in 1944 and the company was nationalised, it is still partly owned by the French government. In the 50s and 60s, Renault were famous for building small people's cars, the Renault 4 is maybe the most known. In 1984 Espace, a trendsetting people carrier was launched and during the last decades Renault has made a name for themselves making safe cars with a distinctive design. Renault has been successful in motor racing, mostly Formula 1, but also in rallying and touring car championships.